Zhongshan Almond Cookies

Zhongshan Almond Cookies

　　Zhongshan Almond Cookies: Named for their almond-like appearance. Originally made at home for personal consumption, they were later replicated as a commercial product, with their shape changed to small round biscuits. They have a history of over 70 years. The cookie is crispy on the outside, sweet in the center, rich yet not greasy, melts in the mouth, and has a unique flavor.

　　The Zhongshan specialty almond cookie is a type of mung bean cookie. It was first created by Ju Xiang Yuan Cake Shop, which has a history of over 90 years. The original almond cookies were made by grinding mung beans into powder, forming them into almond shapes, inserting a piece of sugar-cured pork in the middle, and then baking them into mung bean cookies. The almond cookie also got its name from its shape, but it has now been improved and is round in shape.

　　The origin of Zhongshan’s almond cookies: In the late Qing Dynasty during the Guangxu Emperor’s reign, ingenious local hermits carefully crafted mung bean and pork-filled cookies using ingredients such as mung bean flour and fatty pork slices. These were considered an excellent gift for festivals and for entertaining relatives and friends. When Qin Shoukun, the then magistrate of Xiangshan County, tried them, he found them sweet, fragrant, soft, and with a hint of almond aroma. He highly praised them and immediately wrote the four characters “Chi Jia Liu Xiang” (fragrance lingers in the mouth and cheeks) in admiration. Production then began on a larger scale and they quickly gained widespread popularity. In the seventh year of the Republic of China (1918), due to government regulations on industrial and commercial taxation, the product was officially registered as a business and began operating under the brand name “Ju Xiang Yuan Almond Cookie Shop.”

　　At the turn of the new century, Ju Xiang Yuan was involved in drafting the province-wide GMP standards for baked goods. It successfully passed GMP certification for baked goods, HACCP international food safety system certification, and ISO9001–2000 international quality management system certification, becoming one of the first enterprises in China to obtain these three authoritative certifications. It is a Grade A hygienic reputation enterprise and was awarded the title of “Trustworthy Product Quality Enterprise” by the Provincial Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision. The Zhongshan specialty almond cookie, with its unique charm, guaranteed quality, and trusted reputation, has won countless awards. Therefore, friends visiting Zhongshan must try this famous local specialty.